Geri Nikolai: Meet the 'Lupine Lady'

Geri Nikolai

Friday

Jul 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 27, 2007 at 10:08 PM

Weekly gardening column by Geri Nikolai of Rockford Register Star

Mary Bergstrom, who lives at the corner of Carolina Avenue and Wisconsin Road in Rockford, wished for years that she could plant flowers around a street sign at that corner. As she explained in an e-mail, the sign stood in a small patch of "gravely crab grass." Bergstrom wasn’t physically able to do anything about it.

Two years ago, Joyce Ball, who lives up the street, stopped by to ask if Bergstrom would mind if Ball planted flowers there.

Mind?, said Bergstrom. Let me buy the plants, and anything else you need. No, said Ball, she had plenty of plants at home she could divide.

"Two years later," wrote Bergstrom, "we are enjoying the second season of a glorious corner garden. Joyce planted a sampler of perennials that bloom at different times. The color, textures and varied heights of the plants is phenomenal."

Out-of-town visitors have commented on the change in the corner, Bergstrom said. We hope the folks who live around there noticed, too.

Bergstrom calls Ball the "Lupine Lady," after the character in Barbara Cooney’s book "Miss Rumphius." Even though Ball’s lupines didn’t do well, "she remains a lupine lady in our hearts because she touched our hearts and lives with the beauty of a garden," Bergstrom said.

Scientists have measured the value of a clean and pretty landscape. There is less crime, more commerce and even better-behaved kids in those environments than seedy neighborhoods. Bergstrom described an equally important impact, the way beauty touches our emotions. We salute her and Bell for their contribution to our city.

Planting Pink

More than 43,000 pink-flowering plants were put in the ground this year in the American Cancer Society’s Plant it Pink at the Post campaign to fight breast cancer.

The society asked people to plant pink flowers around their mailboxes. The goal was to plant 40,000, one for each of the men and women who will die of breast cancer this year.

Counts from nurseries promoting the campaign, organizations taking part and the park district show that 43,000 flowers were planted, said Amanda Hermans of the society.

The local arm of the Cancer Society reminds women that if your insurance doesn’t cover mammograms or pap smears, free tests are available. Call 815-972-7250 for details.

Geri Nikolai writes about home and garden for the Register Star. Contact her at 815-987-1337 or gnikolai@rrstar.com.